Had Enough.. Its driving me round the benz.

[rhino8572]

My Engine is misfiring and for the first few minutes until the engine is warm I am reduced to walking pace driving. As soon as it is warm everything appears to be ok.

If I leave my car parked for more than a couple of hours I get the same thing.

I have a new air filter and plugs, as I thought this was the problem, but I am loosing patience with this now it is driving me round the benz.

Can anyone help. I don't really want to go to the dealers and loose an arm and leg, if anyone can help me I would be greatful, I am told that I may need the car tuning, but no one other than a dealer seams to be able to help.

 

[paulcallender]

Which model Mercedes is it?

 

[Unleashed]

Have you tried replacing the HT leads?

 

[jberks]

model, age, mileage?

 

[rhino8572]

Hi

I have a C200 1997.

The problem only rears it head when first starting at the moment. When warm it is ok (for the moment).

Thanks for the continued advise.

 

[paulcallender]

Its going to be worth checking the ECU for any fault codes, something might be faulty which is making the warm up program give wrong fuelling info. If this is good, then I'd change the HT leads too.

 

[rhino8572]

Its going to be worth checking the ECU for any fault codes, something might be faulty which is making the warm up program give wrong fuelling info.

Is this a job for the dealer, and do you have any idea what sort of time this would take to check out?

Thanks

 

[paulcallender]

Anyone with the appropriate fault code reader. Merc specialists would have it, regular garages might do too, you'd have to ask around. It takes approximately 1½ minutes to do, I think.

 

[rhino8572]

I think it would be a wise investment, I'll ask my dealer tomorrow.

I hope that I will get the answer with this.

Thanks

 

[rhino8572]

I have had the ECU looked at and I am told there is a signal sent to the ECU and one back to what I thought was the cold start valve, however I am told there is no cold start valve on Engines that begin with 111, so I am back to the starting block. He also indicated there was no problem with fuel pressures, plugs (which i changed), or any other faults on the tests.

The guy who looked at it spent a good 1 1/2 hours under the bonnet, and it does appear to be a little better, I actually could start the car.

Can any one confirm if the 111 Engine has cold start valve, and if it does not can anyone tell me what the part is that sits on top of the engine block under the plastic cover that has the cross hair motif on it. ( part number for the connection to the "valve" is listed as 988339-1.

Would it be worthwhile trying some injector cleaning liquid that you put in the tank?

thanks all.

 

[MondeoMan]

No, I don't think that'll help.

Cold start valves were used on older, less sophisticated injection systems. I would change the coolant temp sensor, it's not too expensive and easy to do.

 

[rhino8572]

Mondeo Man I must thank you because someone else has suggested this as well.

I have ordered one from the dealer and I am picking it up tomorrow. It cost me the grand total of £9.07 which I think a is very good price. (It was very funny and worth a tenner just to see when the chap on the parts counter thump his head on the bonnet after getting the part number)

Hopefully this will sort out the problem.

To date it will have cost me £60 to get this problem sorted (and that includes a full diagnostic, spark plugs and air filter etc) so I think I have done very well.

The diagnostic took 1 1/2 hours so at least for £60 I know ther car is good for a few more miles, as there was no other problems found.

If this works and the car runs well again I will be happy once more, and it is just in time for the weekend.

I thank this site and all the members who have helped; so far you have potentially saved me hundreds of pounds. ( That I can now spend on extras for the car - ANY SUGGESTIONS ANYBODY!!!)

Thanks to everyone, I will stay tuned to this forum and help whenever I can.


Dean :grin:

 

[rhino8572]

Here Goes, the temp sender did not work.


I have now had a diagnosic check (all ok), replaced the temp sender unit on the block (problem became worse). Changed the plugs and air filter, cleaned everything I can think of, charged up the battery (all ok with the battery) etc etc.


Can anyone shed any light on this. I am really fed up now, all I want is my car back to normal.

:-?

 

[paulcallender]

If your ECU has no fault codes, then it definitely sounds like an ignition problem. Since you have changed the plugs, next to change would be the leads/coil packs.

 

[rhino8572]

Are the coil packs a dealer only item?

Any ideas on cost ( its not really an issue of cost but just so I know what to expect)

Thanks

:!:

 

[MondeoMan]

Coil packs are probably expensive, not the sort of thing you'd swap out as a test. It may be time to throw in the towel and visit the dealer... could be cheaper in the long run.

 

[rhino8572]

Right here goes

Diagnostic shows nothing.

Replaced Coils, leads, plugs, temp sender, air filter and cleaned everything I can think of.

I am told from the dealer that my engine does not have a cold start valve.

Still running like a bag of spanners when first starting, I have also now got a flat spot when i an accellerating.

Everything points to ignition trouble but i am really stuck now. I am more fed up than ever now.

Any more ideas please. Are there any sensors that monitor fuel flow, symptoms are similar to fuel starvation.

:sad:

Dean

 

[paulcallender]

Does the warm up regulator circuit sit underneath the inlet manifold, on this model? If its in the same position as mine, then its damn hard to reach while the engine is in the car. But I'm assuming its possible, perhaps from below. I'd bet that one of those pipes is blocked. The other possibility, is that its connected wrongly, its leaking, or parts are missing here.

 

[jberks]

Right here goes

Diagnostic shows nothing.

Replaced Coils, leads, plugs, temp sender, air filter and cleaned everything I can think of.

I am told from the dealer that my engine does not have a cold start valve.

Still running like a bag of spanners when first starting, I have also now got a flat spot when i an accellerating.

Everything points to ignition trouble but i am really stuck now. I am more fed up than ever now.

Any more ideas please. Are there any sensors that monitor fuel flow, symptoms are similar to fuel starvation.

:sad:

Dean

Dean,
As Mondeo Man says, it may be time to throw in the towel. You've spent money replacing parts that evidently weren't the problem. We could keep on going until you've replaced everything. Clearly we've gone beyond the normal common issues and are into hard diagnostics - hard to do over the internet. IMHO What you really need is for someone who knows these motors to be able to muck about, eyeball it, pull bits off do some testing and track the problem. A specialist will know how each component should look and feel like. There are loads of sensors, actuators etc and any one, if misbehaving appropriately, though unusually could be the cause. A couple of hours (<£100) with a specialist and you'd probably have the answer. Could be a lot cheaper in the long run and certainly less frustrating.
I had a Granada suffering fron fuel starvation a few years ago. Had I followed this route I may have replaced fuel pumps and filters , air sensors, pipes, ECU etc - it turned out to be a knock sensor. - not a component I'd even considered.
Good luck.
JB

 

[neilairman]

cold start problems

i think that there is a canister fitted inside the wing which absorbs fuel vapour
from the tank which is sucked into the inlet manifold to make the mixture richer for cold statrting.
these cannisters are replaceable, so perhaps yours is knackered.